Take me out to the Ballgame

Last night Elle and Zed and I went to see the Frisco Roughriders play the Corpus Christie Hooks. It was a chilly night for Texas AA baseball. We all had on long sleeves and jackets, and I even brought along a blanket. I’m glad, because Elle and I ended up using it. But despite the chilly weather, we had a great time.

One thing I have to say about Minor League (AA) ball is it’s S-L-O-W. It took one and a half hours to get through the first four innings. My kids had got a couple of autographs before the game, but they wanted more. I tried to be patient and wait it out, but when 9 o’clock hit and we were in the 7th inning, tied 3-3, I made them a deal. We’d wait it out until the end of regulation. Once the 9th inning was over, we were going home, no matter what. And, at then end of 9, we were still tied 3-3, at 10:30 pm on a school night.

A trip to the bathroom and a walk to the shuttle bus and we were in the car. Fortunately home isn’t too far away. Elle was in bed and Zed was in the shower by 11. Nick was already asleep. I was still a bit wound up and ended up falling asleep in the recliner.

This morning I checked the report only to find out the Riders won it in the bottom of the 10th. Bummer. Of course one inning was probably something like another half hour.

This was my 4th or 5th Riders game. I love this ball park. It’s very family friendly. Nowhere in the park are you more than 24 rows from the field. Just about every inning they have some goofy contest or something. Elle and I tried to get on the Kiss-Cam, but they seemed to prefer player action to family action. Zed almost caught a ball. The outfielder retrieved a foul ball and tossed it to our section. The ball bounced of Zed’s hand and landed in the glove of a kid two seats over. Zed was bummed but handled it pretty well. Better luck next time I told him. The kids had fun watching Deuce the Groundhog play around the field. He even came into the stands. The Famous Chicken is coming in July. He should be a hoot to see.